Quick 9: What the US has given to golf
9. A tradition like any other
Since its inaugural tee shot by Bobby Jones in the spring of 1934, Augusta National has provided the amphitheatre to the one major every player is desperate to win: The Masters.
An ode to impeccable and incredible greens keeping, the grounds of Augusta National, once used to raise beef and turkey during WWII, now boast the most sought after golf course in the world.
Tucked away in a corner of Georgia, The Masters is a blast to the world of yesteryear, quaint and charming coupled with unrivalled drama. And then, of course, the Green Jacket. It’s all so wonderfully American.
8. GOATs galore
Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods? Whichever side of the Greatest of All Time debate you stand on, one thing we can all agree on is how lucky we are to have lived in the same era as at least one of them, if not both.
While Jack and Tiger have combined for a total of 152 PGA Tour wins and 32 major championships, it would be churlish to ignore the others. The US’s legacy in golf has taken many different forms, from the early days of Bobby Jones and Ben Hogan to the spread of the Arnold Palmer brand, proving it possible that anyone can become a worldwide champion. Jack lurched out from Arnold Palmer’s shadow and won everything possible more than once, before Tiger changed the game and injected life into a new breed of golfers, spanning the globe.
7. American beauties
Cypress Point, Shinnecock Hills, Oakmont, Merion, Pebble Beach, Spyglass, Winged Foot, Bethpage Black, Muirfield Village, Pacific Dunes, Friar’s Head. The list goes on and on.
Etched in every corner of the US are stunning plots of land we are lucky to be able to hack up. The greats such as Pete Dye, Tom Doak, Donald Ross, Tom Fazio, Ben Crenshaw, Trent Jones, Jack Nicklaus and now Tiger Woods are the reason for these heavenly places and all hail from the US.
The land of the free is home to the most precious and prestigious courses on the planet.
Tom Irwin
Tom is a lifetime golfer, now over 30 years playing the game. 2023 marks 10 years in golf publishing and he is still holding down a + handicap at Alwoodley in Leeds. He has played over 600 golf courses, and has been a member of at least four including his first love Louth, in Lincolnshire. Tom likes unbranded clothing, natural fibres, and pencil bags. Seacroft in Lincolnshire is where it starts and ends.
